Coldfoot, Alaska

Coldfoot is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 34 at the 2020 census. It is said that the name was derived from travelers getting "cold feet" about making the 240-some-mile journey north to Deadhorse.

Coldfoot primarily serves as a truck stop on the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. North of Coldfoot, there are no services for 240 miles (400 km), until Deadhorse. It has a restaurant and a small number of overnight accommodations (converted pipeline construction camp quarters). Bus tours along the highway typically take two days, with passengers spending the night in Coldfoot. The BLM, USFWS, and NPS jointly staff a small visitor center during the summer. The Coldfoot truck stop was founded by Iditarod champion Dick Mackey, who started his operation by selling hamburgers out of a converted school bus. Truckers helped build the existing truck stop and cafe. The Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) has a camp (Maintenance Station) in Coldfoot.

The town was originally a mining camp named Slate Creek, and around 1900 got its present name when prospectors going up the nearby Middle Fork Koyukuk River would get "cold feet" and turn around. In 1902, Coldfoot had two roadhouses, two stores, seven saloons, and a gambling house. A post office operated from 1902 to 1912, then reopened in 1984.

Coldfoot Airport, on the west side of the Dalton Highway, consists of a 4,000-foot (1220 m) gravel strip, used for air taxi and general aviation.

Coldfoot has been featured on ''Ice Road Truckers'', a Canadian reality television series airing on the History Channel. The truck stop was first seen during the show's third season. The show, which dramatizes trucking on the Dalton Highway, often features truckers transporting equipment to the oil companies located in or around the Prudhoe Bay area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Coldfoot has a total area of , which is all land.

Demographics

Coldfoot first appeared on the 2000 U.S. Census as a census-designated place.

At the 2000 census, there were thirteen people, six households, and one family residing in the CDP. The population density was 0.4 people per square mile (0.1/km²). There were twelve housing units at an average density of 0.3 per square mile (0.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 100% White.
There were six households: two had children under the age of eighteen living with them, two were married couples living together, and four were non-families. Three households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.17, and the average family size was 4.

The age distribution was three under the age of 18, one from 18 to 24, five from 25 to 44, and four from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years. There were four females and nine males, including three females and seven males aged eighteen and over.

The median household income was $61,250, and the per capita income was $42,620. None of the population was living below the poverty line.

Education

The community was previously served by a school of the Yukon–Koyukuk School District.Alaska School Map
" Alaska Department of Education. 2013. Retrieved on March 13, 2017.

References

External links

*

Coldfoot Camp

{{authority control

Census-designated places in Alaska
Census-designated places in Unorganized Borough, Alaska
Census-designated places in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
Populated places of the Arctic United States